The T5 Q&a Thread

[The Grim Reefer]

I have a 90g with 4 blue plus 2 GE 6500k and 2 75.25. Looks awesome. I have a 25 gallon refugium plumbed next to my tank that I am going to convert into a frag tank. I was thinking a 24" tek light, since I have a 48" 8 bulb and I has served me well. The question is bulb combo. I want max growth, but I do want color still. I was thinking 2 6500k GE and 2 ATI blue plus. Opinions? Should I toss Fiji purple or 75.25 in over a 6500k? Thanks in advance.

2 Blue Plus 1 ATI Aquablue and a Fiji Purple would look good and give better growth.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

i apreciate your quick responce. after research i realized i can probably only afford to change out a few of them right now... 2 or 3. i was wondering how you would prioritize? and where would you recomend purchasing them from? i am also curious to know what PAR stands for? and im a little concerned about all those blue plus lights giving me a realy blue almost deep blue tint to my tank, will this happen? right now my stock light are as stated in the first quote alternating
10,000k
420 nm
10,000k
420 nm
10,000k
420nm
thanks again grim

Get 3 ATI Blue Plus and replace 2 420's and 1 10K with them. It will take away that slight off color tint you likely see now and greatly increase PAR which is the range of light your critters use to grow.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I am setting up a 72 bow, and I have a 48" 4x54 fixture that came with it. I am thinking 2 blue + and 2 aquablue special but I intend to have mostly lps with some softies and maybe a couple sps up high. I see a lot of people with the fiji purple but most are running it in a 5 bulb setup. Should I change my plan before I order? I plan to order from reef freak so any bulb on there is an option. Thanks

Swap one Aquablue for the Fiji, you will like.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

hey guys I starting to get a headache here thinking of lighting. I'm trying to figure out my lighting for my 180 bow measurements are 30 deep 17 wide at sides 24 wide in middle. Glass tank with two middle braces. . Here is my idea tell me what you think.

(1) lumenacr 3 SE AC reflector 250 in the middle
(1) 72 inch VHO in back super actinic
(6) (5) 24 inch T5 on the sides in place of 250 SE MH

someone told me i will get a spotlight effect with the 250 in the middle.

I love my reef but can't afford a $300 PGE let me know what you think.

Someone suggested (2) 150 DE MH instead of the t5.

What do you guys think

can you suggest a bulb suggestion if i went the T5 route on the sides?

thanks for the help

PS everything else is don I will do a great build thread soon and post it all

8x80 watt ati Powermodule sat right on the tank would be the best solution as far as power savings goes, they are 60" lamps. As long as your high light stuff is away from the ends you should be fine.

Other than that I would probably say 2 250 halides in lumenarcs with 3 80 watt T5 retros and that VHO is what I would go with. Just run the halides 5 or 6 hours a day and run 1 ATI Aquablue, 1 Blue Plus and 1 Fiji Purple with the VHO 10 hours and just the VHO 12 hours.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Grim:

I saw your post on the 175 bow last page with:
Front
ATI Blue Plus
KZ Fiji Purple
Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue
Blue Plus
Blue Plus

do you think this will be better than a DE 150? I am trying to save watts and get better color. But more save watts 144 vS 150 DE MH. But it will cost me $120 to replace the t5 bulbs on each side of my 175 bow. What is the best choice to save money overall? Watts, and bulb replacement over a 10 year tank

Good T5's will kill a 150 watt halide. I would probably go with a 8 lamp module unless you got the coin for the Aqua Illuminations LED system.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

how do you think this would look?

blue plus
fiji purple
phoenix 14k
UV super actinic
blue plus

i kind of want to try a little bluer route. do you think it would be too blue?

No, should look sweet, post us some pictures once you do it.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hello Grim! Quick question,

Im running 2 36" Ati Blue+ as supplements with my MH. Im using a GLO Ballast 2 x 54w to power the 2 T5's. Do you think this is a good ballast? Im overdriving the bulbs correct?

Would I notice the bulbs brighter if I upgraded my ballast to an Icecap 430?

Thanks for the help!

Your lamps will probably burn out fairly quickly if your ballast is a true 54 watt version, Know a manufacture tried this with a 4x54 watt ballast and the lamps only lasted a few weeks.

The 430 would be a better choice.

 

[TheDogFather]

Question for Grim: It's almost time for me to change the bulbs on my 8x54 ATI PM. The current layout is as follows (back to front):
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aqua Blue Special
ATI Blue Plus
AquaScience Blue
UVL Aqua Sun
KZ Fiji Purple
ATI Aqua Blue Special
ATI Blue Plus

I'm thinking of trying for a different look and am contemplating the following:

KZ Coral Light Blue 22K
KZ Coral Light 10K
KZ Fiji Purple
KZ Coral Light 10K
KZ Coral Light Blue 22K
KZ Fiji Purple
KZ Coral Light 10K
KZ Coral Light Blue 22K

I'm wondering is this will be a lot more blue than my current setup, what's you opinion?

Thanks!

-TDF

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Question for Grim: It's almost time for me to change the bulbs on my 8x54 ATI PM. The current layout is as follows (back to front):
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Aqua Blue Special
ATI Blue Plus
AquaScience Blue
UVL Aqua Sun
KZ Fiji Purple
ATI Aqua Blue Special
ATI Blue Plus

I'm thinking of trying for a different look and am contemplating the following:

KZ Coral Light Blue 22K
KZ Coral Light 10K
KZ Fiji Purple
KZ Coral Light 10K
KZ Coral Light Blue 22K
KZ Fiji Purple
KZ Coral Light 10K
KZ Coral Light Blue 22K

I'm wondering is this will be a lot more blue than my current setup, what's you opinion?

Thanks!

-TDF

Be interesting to see, I am not sure how it will look but should be more blue

 

[Tank2379]

Hey Grim which bulbs have a higher par? Giesemann D&D Powerchrome Aqua Blue plus T5 Bulbs or The ATI Blue Plus 54W T-5?

Let me know

Thanks
Frankie

 

[Nova101]

Grim,

Following this thread, you would seem to recommend UVL 75/25, UVL Actinic White and the KZ Fiji Purple interchangably. Could you elaborate on the differences between the bulbs, PAR and the look of the tank?

Thanks for sharing your expertise.

 

[malac0da13]

Reefgeek.com

I would run 5 ATI Blue Plus, 2 UVL Actinic White and a ATI Aquablue

Hey thanks alot Grim. Will this configuration still help highlight the reds and yellows and such too? If not what bulb should I replace to help out? Thanks again.

 

[jefft72]

I will go ahead and throw my question out there and I certainly appreciate the time and dedication that GrimReefer has given to this subject.

What would your recommendation be for T5 bulbs for my setup?

My current setup is a 65g tall DAS tank currently housing some zoas, frogspawn, and mushrooms.

My lighting setup is (back to front):
24" VHO super actinic
3x 36" T5HO Hagen PowerGlo bulbs
24" VHO super actinic

I am using the different lengths for the VHOs due to the overflow box in the tank in the back left corner so I stagger that back bulb far right. The bulbs were fairly new when I purchased the entire setup from the previous owner. I am not entirely sold on the color and am sure there are better options. My plans are mixed reef with mostly LPS and softies to start with, but would like flexibility for SPS in the future. The T5s are on an IC 660 and the VHOs are using an IC 430.

Tank photos for reference:
All bulbs:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43045906@N02/4242135073/" title="Full tank shot by jeff_t72, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4006/4242135073_fe026b2a9f.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Full tank shot" /></a>

Actinics only:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43045906@N02/4242910188/" title="Full tank - actinics only by jeff_t72, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2510/4242910188_9d0455eaa2.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Full tank - actinics only" /></a>

 

[kgross]

Grim

I have access to most of the UVL bulbs and the GE 6500, so what would you suggest for a 6 bulb fixture?

Thanks

kim

 

[NirvanaFan]

This has probably already been asked, but I'm going to anyways. I've got an 8 bulb tek fixture. I'm looking for about a 15 or 16k look. Could you give me a bulb combination? All of my bulbs are old and need replacing.

I was thinking something like this:
Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue
UVL Actinic White
Blue Plus
Blue Plus
ATI Aquablue
Blue Plus
Blue Plus

Thanks Grim!

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hey Grim which bulbs have a higher par? Giesemann D&D Powerchrome Aqua Blue plus T5 Bulbs or The ATI Blue Plus 54W T-5?

Let me know

Thanks
Frankie

ATI was a little higher. Not enough to make it worth making an extra trip to get it but if you have a choice go with the ATI

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Grim,

Following this thread, you would seem to recommend UVL 75/25, UVL Actinic White and the KZ Fiji Purple interchangably. Could you elaborate on the differences between the bulbs, PAR and the look of the tank?

Thanks for sharing your expertise.

Fiji Purple for 4 lamp combo because it is a more subtle way to punch red and has high PAR

75/25 is good when the PAR isn't crucial and you have a larger fixture and need more than 1 lamp to boost the red output.

Actinic White is good if you don't have a daylight or want a little less blue look than you get using one of the more subtle "red" lamps.

The Fiji is nice but they have about a 10.00 premium for the lamp. In many cases you can get the same effect using the less expensive lamps

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Hey thanks alot Grim. Will this configuration still help highlight the reds and yellows and such too? If not what bulb should I replace to help out? Thanks again.

Maybe do a GE 6500K Daylight instead of the Aquablue if you have Yellows, I T H I N K the Actinic Whites will hit yellow good but just to be safe the GE lamp will for sure.

Try to place the GE lamp at the center with a Actinic white a couple places front and rear of the GE. Just make sure you have blue plus for dusk/dawn.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

I will go ahead and throw my question out there and I certainly appreciate the time and dedication that GrimReefer has given to this subject.

What would your recommendation be for T5 bulbs for my setup?

My current setup is a 65g tall DAS tank currently housing some zoas, frogspawn, and mushrooms.

My lighting setup is (back to front):
24" VHO super actinic
3x 36" T5HO Hagen PowerGlo bulbs
24" VHO super actinic

I am using the different lengths for the VHOs due to the overflow box in the tank in the back left corner so I stagger that back bulb far right. The bulbs were fairly new when I purchased the entire setup from the previous owner. I am not entirely sold on the color and am sure there are better options. My plans are mixed reef with mostly LPS and softies to start with, but would like flexibility for SPS in the future. The T5s are on an IC 660 and the VHOs are using an IC 430.

Tank photos for reference:
All bulbs:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43045906@N02/4242135073/" title="Full tank shot by jeff_t72, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4006/4242135073_fe026b2a9f.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="Full tank shot" /></a>

Actinics only:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43045906@N02/4242910188/" title="Full tank - actinics only by jeff_t72, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2510/4242910188_9d0455eaa2.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Full tank - actinics only" /></a>

Front
ATI Blue Plus
GE 6500K Daylight
ATI Aquablue

With the actinics it should look nice.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Grim

I have access to most of the UVL bulbs and the GE 6500, so what would you suggest for a 6 bulb fixture?

Thanks

kim

4 454 Blues, 1 Actinic White and 1 GE 6500K Daylight.